


Confrontation

by birdflashshipper (kateshines), jarith



Series: I've Loved You Since Forever [9]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M, Trigger Warning: Homophobic Language, trigger warning: mention of past child abuse, trigger warning: threats of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 12:00:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12817083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kateshines/pseuds/birdflashshipper, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarith/pseuds/jarith
Summary: After having shared their happy news with all of their superhero friends and family, Wally and Dick are ready to tell Wally's parents about their engagement.It... doesn't go well.





	Confrontation

**Author's Note:**

> What?? No porn in this one?? Two fics in a row in this series??? :O Sorry for those of you who are just here for the smut scenes. This one actually has... *gasp!*.... a plot.
> 
> But, y'know. Sex will be in the next fic. Cuz it's me and Viki, and we can't not. ;D

Two days after Dick's proposal, Wally forced himself to sit in the car next to his fiancé (HIS FIANCÉ) to visit his parents. They had spent these 48 hours with spreading the good news. Everyone was extremely thrilled and excited and they didn't get anything but positive reactions. In spite of his well-founded fears, it gave Wally some hope regarding his parents. Maybe this time would go better. Maybe they would realize he was serious and his relationship with Dick was important for him. 

He was going to get married! _Married_ , forever, to his best friend, partner and lover. He couldn't get any more serious than this. 

When they parked in front of the house, Wally took a deep breath. This time he had called and made sure this time was good for his parents. They wouldn't have said yes if they hadn't wanted to see them, right? 

Before they got out, Wally leaned over to kiss the other. 

"Regardless what they say, you are the best son-in-law anyone could wish for." 

Dick beamed at him in spite of his nervousness. He knew how tough this was going to be for Wally. They had the support of Barry and the rest of the superhero community, for sure - fighting world-domination-obsessed psychopaths on a biweekly basis tended to make you a little bit liberal; as long as you aren't hurting someone else, who cares? - but his father was another thing entirely. Dick knew what kind of relationship they'd had in the past, and even though it had been months since the first time the two of them stood on their doorstep to announce their relationship, he doubted that Wally's father had changed his beliefs since that day. 

Nonetheless, he put on a brave smile. They had been riding the emotional high of their engagement for the past couple of days. They had been celebrating with family and friends. M'Gann and Iris were already diligently planning their wedding. 

A wave of fierce protectiveness shot through him as Wally rang the doorbell. Nothing would get in the way of Wally's happiness if Dick had anything to say about it 

Both of them felt relief when the redhead's mother opened the door and welcomed them with a small but honest smile. She opened her arms to embrace her son. 

"Hey, mom," Wally let out a little laugh and as he pulled back, he pressed his lips against the woman's face. "Sorry, I know we arrived a bit early." 

"It's okay," she waved. "The cookies are almost done. Come inside. It's good to see you, Richard," she looked at the other man with a warm expression. 

Dick couldn't help but give her a smile - genuine, this time - in return. No matter how Rudolph reacted, at least Mary would still have warmth in her heart for her son. "It's good to see you too, Mrs. West," he responded with a polite incline of his head. "How have you been?" 

"Oh, just fine," she said, her eyes darting to the boys' enclasped hands. The corners of her eyes crinkled when she looked back up to Wally's beaming face. "It's good to see you two together." 

Wally and Dick shared a quick happy look with each other and turned back to her. "Thanks mom," Wally said with misty eyes. "That's actually what we are here to talk about." 

In that moment, Rudolph walked into the room. "Mary, I lost track of- oh. _You're_ here." He gave Dick a distasteful look. "I thought it would be just my son coming over." 

That uncomfortable feeling that always reappeared within Wally when his dad was around increased hearing Rudolph’s tone. Wally gritted his teeth to steel himself and tried not to let his feelings show on his face. Even though he wanted to stand up for Dick because he didn't deserve this kind of rude treatment, he knew his dad was an impossible man and arguing him would have been just oil to the fire. "We thought we would tell you the big news together," he said instead, keeping his smile in place as they followed Mary into the kitchen. 

Mary looked back at them over her shoulder. "Oh, big news? What big news?" 

"Well..." 

Wally sent a quick look towards his fiancé, then he reached out to hold his hand while he raised the other and turned it so the ring on his finger would be more obvious and visible. 

The reactions were immediate; Mary seemed surprised first, then she put both her hands on her mouth, her eyes shining from disbelief - but she didn't look opposing. 

On the other hand, Rudolph's expression was the example of negativity and reluctance. Unfortunately, he recovered faster than Mary. 

"Are you fuckin’ around on me, son?" His voice was harsh and Wally's back tensed right away. 

"We are going to get married," he said firmly. 

"No, you are not. It's bad enough you grew up to be a damn faggot." 

Wally felt like getting an ice cold shower and the blood run out of his face. "Dad, I-" 

"No!" he yelled harshly. "First you became a fast little freak, now this? Absolutely not. No son of mine is marrying a man." 

Dick gave him his best Wanye Enterprises business smile. "Mister West, if I may-" 

"No," he cut off again in a low growl. "No, you may not. You're the reason he's like this, you know. The reason he came out all fucked up. He always looked up to you, following you around while you were playing superheroes, and now you've gone and convinced him to be a fag? That's bad enough. I'm tolerating this phase the best I can, but I won't let this go any further. You two can fuck around and do whatever it is you queers do, but I won't be giving my blessing for a wedding. Absolutely _not_." 

For a moment, no one said anything and even the air seemed to stop around them. Wally could hear his own heartbeat and shaking breaths while every word Rudolph said echoed in his head, stinging and cutting and making him feel dizzy. He involuntarily squeezed Dick's hand harder. Mary seemed a little frightened and Wally knew she wouldn't interfere. Not because she agreed, obviously, but because she was too afraid to protest. 

A dangerous glint came into Dick's eyes and his jaw set. "I wasn't asking for your blessing, _sir_." His last word, spat more than spoken, contained a thousand types of venom. "Quite frankly, I don't need it. He's a grown man and he can make his own decisions. I simply wanted to to be the bigger man and tell you face to face that, even though I know you are not in favor, that I intend to spend the rest of my life with your son, doing everything in my power to make him happy. It was my hope that, in that, we can find some sort of common ground." 

Rudolph stepped forward, his face dark and threatening. "You always had a smart fucking mouth. A rich little brat with a damn silver spoon stuck up your ass." 

Wally found his voice again in that moment, and he moved between the man he loved and the man he always feared without hesitation. "Dad! Stop it, okay? Dick is one of the best people I've ever known and you won't put this on him." 

They stared into each other's eyes for long seconds before Rudolph huffed, angrily and impatiently. "I knew the moment you were born that you'd be a fucking disappointment." 

"Rudolph--" 

"No, mom, it's fine," Wally said, his throat tightening. He already felt the forming tears in his eyes but he didn't... he wouldn't cry. He didn't want to give this satisfaction to his father. "You never loved me, you never said you are proud of me. I get it. Can we just leave it alone?" 

"What should I have been proud of?" he laughed, and Wally flinched by the raw cruelty in his voice. "You were a skinny, pale little leech. Always buried in your books or hanging out with my sister and his idiot boyfriend instead of helping your mother or making yourself useful. Then you started admiring your stupid superheroes and made yourself a bigger freak than you already were. Now this nonsense. What should I be proud of, huh?" 

What made Dick’s blood _really_ boil is the way Rudolph spoke - he was so calm. It wasn't said in a blind rage. He meant every word of it. 

Voice dangerously low, Dick took a step forward. " _You_ ," he seethed. "You shut your fucking mouth. I had hoped you would be a decent human being about this, but I’m not surprised. You've always been a useless sack of shit of a father to him." He took another step forward, practically growling. "Wally is good, and kind, and self-sacrificing, and an absolute fucking genius. If you can't find something to be proud of in that, the problem isn't him. It's _you_." Eyes burning, face fixed into the angriest expression Wally had ever seen on his otherwise handsome face, he hissed, "You can call me every name in the book, but You. Will. Not. Insult. Wally." 

If anything, his response definitely washed off every sign of that sick assertiveness. After Dick's words he seemed quite furious, redness climbing onto his face. 

"This is MY house, you piece of shit! You shouldn't even be here, let alone telling me how to talk to my son. You-- You can fuck off, go back to wherever you crawled out from before I--" 

"Before what?" Wally snapped. He wanted to run so damn much. Like back then, in the past. Every time Rudolph had a bad day at work or he drank a little more than he should have; every time it resulted in yelling and hitting and breaking things. And Wally would run. To his room, to the garden, to the playground - anywhere else and away from the house. He wasn't proud of it, leaving his mom like that, he felt so ashamed and pathetic, but he was also very scared. But he wasn't a little, defenseless kid anymore, was he? "Just try to do anything to him and I swear to god you will regret it," he growled, meaning all of it. 

The rage of his father immediately turned towards him, and he felt a surge of pride when he didn't even blink. 

"Yeah? Are you threatening your father, you ungrateful bastard?" 

“If you’re threatening Dick, then yes, I am.” 

Wally - kind of - did see it coming, yet he couldn't react. He may have believed this would end differently even though nothing could fix their relationship at this point. He may have believed that the presence of an outsider, someone who wasn't part of their shitshow of a family, would hold him back. 

He was twelve when Rudolph had hit him the last time. Back then, he had at least been considerate enough to do it where people couldn't see it. But this time his fist landed in his face, and Wally fell against Dick from the impact. 

Blind rage filled Dick’s body. He had seen Wally take a hit so many times before. They had fought crime together for well over ten years. He had seen him break his bones, get almost crushed by aliens, get burned, dumped into a vat of acid. Hell, he occasionally was the one doing the hitting during spars and practices. But he had never seen him look so defenseless. 

He grasped Wally's shoulders and pulled him up to his feet without taking his eyes off of Rudolph. Once Wally had regained his footing, Dick stepped away and took three brisk strides to cross the room. Within seconds, he was in Rudolph's face. 

His voice was so quiet that Wally could barely hear him, but his tone was unmistakable as he grabbed Rudolph by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "You piece of shit." 

Rudolph just glared and spat in his face. "I am trying to teach him a lesson. Something a little orphan like you wouldn't understand. Beating it out of him is the only thing that ever worked." 

Dick’s heart stopped for a moment as he processed the words, and he saw red when he realized his implication. 

He had hit Wally before. 

Dick pressed him closer against the wall and smiled cruelly. "You're lucky I have a no killing rule, Rudolph. If I ever hear that you've hit him again, I happen know a few people who _don't_ have such an irritatingly restrictive no-killing rule and I'd be happy to make the introductions." 

"I'll hit my son whenever I fucking please," Rudolph spat. 

Dick regarded him with cold eyes. "No. You won't." 

Then, in a sudden whirl of motion, he twisted Rudolph's arm and an audible _SNAP_ was heard, followed by three more cracks that shattered the silence in the room. Dick knew enough about anatomy to know where to shatter his elbows, rendering his arms useless and ensuring that he would never be able to use them the same way again. Rudolph yelled hoarsely in pain and Dick pressed him up against the wall again and murmured a warning into his ear. "If you try that again, I _will_ have you killed. I do not make empty promises. I will have Gotham's Red Hood track you down and murder you. He's killed hundreds of people and he will kill you too if I ask him to." His cruel smirk returned. "Hell, he'll probably kill you even if I don't ask. He has a thing about child abusers; he’d kill you regardless of whether or not I ask for it if he gets wind of this. Wally holds a special place in his heart, so I’d weigh my options very carefully if you intend to lay a hand on him ever again." 

Wally didn't have any intension to move or stop Dick during the scene, and not only because seeing his father suffering for everything he had done to them, to _him_ , but because he was paralyzed. Becoming a speedster, starting to train, finding friends - these things saved him and even though he couldn't move away till he became an adult legally, slowly he suppressed the memories. It seemed like the beatings and abuse happened a life time ago. To a boy who was part of him but didn't exist anymore. 

Now, he felt small and vulnerable and a victim again who let that shit happen. He felt a kid all over again, his face throbbing. 

He could see his mother silently crying, and as soon as Dick let Rudolph go and stepped back, the woman immediately rushed to the side of the man who sank to the floor between pained moans. It broke Wally's heart. After everything Mary still stood on the side of that asshole, still went to comfort him. Still chose him over her son. 

Gulping and sending a desperate glance towards Dick, he turned around. He needed to get out of this house, he needed some fresh air. 

"That's it..." Rudolph hissed between ragged breaths. "Run away as always! Only thing you were ever good at. Running away like a _coward_." 

He barely heard the end of the sentence before he _finally_ walked out from the place he grew up in, with the decision of never ever coming back. 

  
Dick gave a chilled look towards the couple slumped on the floor. "The Red Hood will be in attendance at our wedding. Consider that your first and only warning. If we see you there or anywhere else, I'm telling him what you did to Wally regardless of whether or not Wally wants me to. You are a parasite and if you continue to hurt him, you will be exterminated as such." He gave a pointed look towards Mary. "Keep him away from Wally if you want your husband above the ground, Mrs. West. As long as you stay with him, you support his actions, and I don't want you around my future husband either." 

"You can't make these decisions for him," Rudolph hissed through the pain. 

"You're right," Dick answered cooly. "I can't. But I clearly care for him more than either of you ever did, and I will do everything in my power to protect him from harm. If you touch him again, I’ll kill you myself." He gave an unsavory look to the pair. "Don't bother going to the police. I have connections everywhere and the entirety of the Batman empire behind me. Stay away from Wally and live out your miserable, lonely lives so we can live out our happy ones." 

With that, he turned his back and slammed the door behind him, running to his fiancée's side. 

  
Wally was standing by the car, one hand on the roof to support himself, the other wrapped around himself. Wally heard the opening and closing of the door, and his brain assumed that it must have been Dick, but his fiancée was faster than him and he reached him before the speedster could turn around completely. 

"I'm..." He wanted to say he was fine, but his eyes filled with tears and by the time he faced Dick, he was openly crying. 

Dick felt his anger melt away at the sight of his crying fiancée, and he pulled Wally into his arms like he was the most precious thing in the world. "Wally," Dick said brokenly. "I am so, _so_ sorry. You don't deserve what just happened. You didn't deserve any of what he's done to you." He stroked Wally's hair as he started to cry. "Let it out, baby boy." Wally shook with the sobs wracking his body and Dick gave a distasteful look towards the house. He didn't want to do this here, not with the source of Wally's pain looming so close. 

He guided Wally to the back seat of the car, input "home" as their destination and set the car to autopilot. He curled up in the back seat with Wally as the car began to drive itself smoothly down Keystone's residential streets. 

He pulled Wally in close and kissed his forehead, his hair, his tear stained cheeks, every speck of skin he could reach. "I love you," he murmured. "You matter. You're loved. You're needed. You're smart, and funny, and kind, and beautiful. You're everything I've ever wanted. You're my best friend and my future husband and I’m never going to leave you." 

He continued murmuring a sweet stream of words into Wally's ear until his shaking subsided and his sobs quieted. 

By the time they arrived home, Wally completely calmed down, resting motionlessly in his arms, but neither of them moved when the car parked down in front of their home and it turned itself off. 

Wally felt extremely exhausted and... fragile. He didn't know what to say. What had just happened... was ugly. As always. And he never told Dick because he hoped it could be a dark, shameful little secret, and with time he could pretend that it never happened. 

Now, it was out of the bottle and it couldn't be closed back inside. 

His throat felt raw when he quietly murmured. "I'm sorry. I thought... I hoped..." With a sigh, he buried his face into Dick's chest, inhaling his scent. "I'm an idiot." 

"Wally," Dick murmured, putting his hand under Dick's chin to pull his gaze upwards. "You are _not_ an idiot. You have nothing to apologize for. You aren't obligated to share your trauma with me, though I do hope you feel comfortable enough to do so eventually. But I trust you to wait until you are ready. You're the love of my life." He pulled him in close. "I know you probably don't believe it now, but you didn't deserve any of that. If he can't see something to be proud of inside you, then the problem isn't with you. It's with him. You are a chemistry genius - you recreated the experiment of a practiced adult chemist at the age of twelve, for fuck's sake! And you are a fucking superhero!” He gently wiped away a fresh stream of Wally’s years with the pads of his fingers. “I adore you. You are my entire world. I love you. You matter." He stroked Wally's hair gently as his breathing steadied out. "And I will tell you that over and over for the rest of our lives until you believe it." 

The redhead quietly hummed, pushing himself further into the other's warmth. He felt... tired. Upset. Not as upset as before but it definitely lingered around. He also felt... ashamed. But Dick's words also helped him not to sink to that place in his mind that was his constant home in his childhood. 

"You know I... I never wanted you to have to see this," Wally whispered, enjoying Dick's soothing touches very much. "Not because I don't trust you enough, it's just... I thought... I thought he would... change. He hadn’t hit me since I was twelve." Wally took a deep breath before he continued. "I thought maybe he hated me less, but... But later I found out it was Iris. She, uh... The last time was pretty bad. Dad broke my arm." He could feel Dick's arms tightening up around him but he didn't interrupt Wally so he didn't stop either. He never told anyone this before. It was almost therapeutic. "Dad and mom didn't believe me when I told them it hurt too much so I ran over to Barry's and... And I didn't say anything but I think Iris knew. Barry took me to the hospital and by the time we came back Iris said I'd stay with them for a while. I slept in their house for a week before mom came and picked me up and from that day he didn't beat me ever again. I… I didn't expect it today," he admitted whispering. 

Dick continued his soft touches and hair-stroking through his whole speech, communicating nonverbally that Wally is safe, loved, wanted, and worthy. He pressed a delicate kiss to his forehead when his words slowed to a stop. "I understand, baby boy. I do. I want you to know that he will never hurt you again. If he so much as tries, I will kill him myself." 

Wally nodded. He bit his lower lip, trying to decide whether or not he would be happy about that. It was hard to develop any feelings beside disgust and hate towards his father and he probably couldn't have killed him. Or seriously hurt him. But knowing that Dick was here to protect him if he needed? It was a good feeling. 

He felt another crying session getting closer so he tried to not think about it. 

"Thank you for standing up for me, handsome," he mumbled with a little smile in the end. 

Dick pressed a chaste kiss to Wally's mouth. "I love you. I will always stand up for you and support you." He gave Wally a serious look. "If you ever want him taken care of, you know we can tell Jason and he'll take him out with no questions asked." 

Wally nodded solemnly and sniffed, burying his face into Dicks shoulder. "Right now, I just want to cuddle." 

A soft smile crossed Dick's face. "Of course. Whatever you need, baby boy." 

He held Wally until his sniffling quieted and he fell asleep in the back seat of their car.

**Author's Note:**

> Viki and I debated whether or not I wrote Dick out of character. I thought that it might be slightly OOC of him to threaten Wally's father, but then Viki reminded me that Dick literally beat the Joker to death after he killed Jason in one variation of the comics. So, yeah. We decided to leave it where it was. However, we recognize that threatening someone's family is an inappropriate and unhealthy behavior, and Dick shouldn't have spoken for Wally behind his back like that. Don't worry though; it will be addressed in later installments.


End file.
